We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Animal Skin

by David Roos

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5.95 USD  or more

     

1.
Peppermint Rosehip Tea (free) 04:23
Silver flask heavy with something hot Peppermint rose hip tea Filled it up but I forgot It’s best to rinse it out in between Cause you never know, you never know Authentic-looking leatherette Permanent, or so you might think Filled it up but I forgot It’s best to try to use indelible ink Cause you never know, you never know A narrow stretch of sand and seagrass Separate these rocks from the mainland This high tide will place us on An island by tomorrow morning There’s only exists a narrow window of time When you can cross over to the side you want Then the water washes in, and little fish float over fading footprints Canvas stretched tight round a white pine frame There’s an empty silver flask, for the turpentine Filled it up but I forgot To make sure the window’s cracked Before you paint a line Cause you never know, you never know
2.
Past Present Future (free) 04:08
At this point in time, we haven’t even reached the beginning That piece of the horizon wasn’t even the starting line We better find a dry place to wait out what’s coming By the side of the road, under the off-ramp we passed an hour ago If it’s written in Hindi, Thai, Sanskrit, Aramaic, or Tibetan You can add an extra color for eight-five dollars more It will last a little longer here in this world than your conscious mind will Maybe only a day or two, until it too will turn into to ashes Which will form back into words as they settle on the ocean floor To calibrate the moment sparks ignite what the flame engages To certify and document this hypothesis for all to see Categorize and relegate and reconsider, and constantly revise What is seen, laid in one good hand, and mirrored in the other
3.
Dinosaur Bones (free) 03:55
Turn the lights on, the shadows have grown To the longest point, and then disappear It’s cool and quiet And we can feel what settles beneath our feet tonight That this connection to all that has been Could be covered for so long, and then reappear It makes me wonder And makes me want to see, If there is anything else, under there I’m spending most of my time digging up dinosaur bones Brushing off the dirt and the dust From these pieces of dried-up calcium Separating the stacks, from the first bit of bone to the last Label what is already there, and count them all And then begin replacing them Deeper water, not worth the bother If you’re lying on a sandbar on a windless day Changing patterns, and various translations will add a few additional ingredients Put away that pick and shovel, unless you are the devil And you’ve come along bringing, the things of which we’re singing Controversy, We’ve seen it all before And so I hang a sign, outside my front door Spending most of my time, digging up dinosaur bones Brushing off the dirt and the dust From these pieces of dried-up calcium And then I start Replacing them
4.
Barometer 03:08
Even with the falling barometric pressure You can’t always depend on A change in the wind’s direction The cloud cover is unchanging It’s quiet—this won’t be lifting fast Seems to gather every morning Despite what has been forecast If you’re sure to leave open a window or two The worst of the storm is sure to pass right through A rock in the river -- A cloud in the sky A band of green in the sunrise Means you should try to not miss your flight A rock through the broken glass A cloud reflected in the shards A fence that wasn’t built to last separates our back yards
5.
I am not a coal miner’s daughter I’m not what passes for that kind of a poetic thing More like a stolen timepiece Given to an iron ore miner’s grandson And then given away I am not the missing line In a mistranslated play Like gasping fish on a paper clip hook The little one that got away I’ll never be counting my blessings here I will never retrace these steps How could I not want something different When I am given so much less I am not the apple in your lunch box To be taken out when you need a prop for your William Tell To stand and radiate Like a good, brave iron ore miner’s grandson These things never end up well And if I am shot at fifty paces I will not be rising from this tomb Just to find myself riding on the tracks into the mine Even if I see they have a little extra room If you end up where you start at Catch, release Hold out that one note till the last measure Even if you think you see me Standing in boots, on a chair in the back row I close my eyes to block out the sun Till I can't see anyone
6.
Animal Skin 04:37
Sew me up in an animal skin and throw me into the river From the middle of an iron bridge Place me on a simple bamboo raft And float me on the circling water Toward a gentler current, toward a gentler current Tie me onto a raven’s tail And clap your hands like this To encourage a magnificent flight Set flame to the juniper branch Bound with knots of colored cloth And turn your head as a row of sparks makes its way to your down-turned eye I will dig a hole, deep into the sand I will not look up until I hit the bottom Not until the time I reach the rocky layer That separates us from what came before Build a platform out of dry wood Build it taller than the highest eye that will look this way Make it strong enough to hold the weight Of a lifetime that no longer carries much Listen for the horn, and listen for the drum Listen for the chorus of voices And listen for a last ringing bell And wait to be carried away I’ll hardly even notice, I’ll hardly even notice Animal skin can swim, animal skin can swim
7.
Take away the drum and the bass Take away everything that hasn’t been nailed down And we’ll all settle down without a sound Carving out a bit of space Separating all that is permanent From the things that rise and fall Nothing Minnesota summer can make you start to wonder if the blueprint’s faded back California thunder breaking out from under all that’s been created fast And we don’t know what we’re going to find Everything is flying Walking down these dead end streets And driving down suspicious highways Take away the time and the place Take away everything that hasn’t been roped off And we’ll just stand and wait Writing out names and dates Looking through the clues for evidence Of the things that rise and fall Nothing Minnesota summer can make you start to wonder if the blueprint’s faded back California turnaround and finish what was left around the last time we kept track And I don’t know what we’re going to find Everything is flying Walking down these dead end streets And driving down suspicious highways
8.
Whenever I am carried along Long forgotten, like a rock in your pocket Deep inside I can not see But I feel every step that is taken Sometimes in the middle of the place where I know I have fallen I forget I can balance, I forget I can uncover my eyes Riding wordless, the dial set in dead center Riding wordless, the level is halfway between left and right And if I sometimes lack a little bit of concentration Well I make up for it in other convincing ways If you get a little in over your head, Sometimes you get to float And as you drift along you get to catch up on the episodes You missed when you were doing time in summer school The names have all been changed Don’t worry, we’ll all be protected To get where I’m going I don’t need to sell the most subscriptions I don’t need to play the trumpet, or pretend I can walk in step To get where I’m going I don’t need to know what, I’m heading for And in its own time the red line will find true magnetic north
9.
A machine designed for living is a wonder to behold A desert dream ranch in every direction Color coordinated, climate controlled In the future we’ll learn to amalgamate All our hopes (and dreams) into one Set up shop, use a different name Trade future worries for what others before us, have done Every thing will glow from within Everything will be spinning Keep a copy, in case they start running out We’ll need more than several, at least that’s what we’re told Availability, but limited interest If you don’t see it on the shelf, it must be sold Every thing will glow from within Everything will be spinning A machine designed for living, a kind of habitat to behold Suburban dream ranch in every direction Color coordinated, climate controlled In the future we’ll learn to amalgamate All our hopes (and dreams) into one Set up shop, under a different name Trade future worries for what others, before us, have done
10.
Is it safe or out of bounds We all get paid to sing along And memorize the revisions that are made Breathing out a line of gospel spirit Filled with love or something near it Until we sing again the words that we just heard Stretching miles across the night time Pointing toward, a starry blacktop Between radio signals, across country roads I am taken, for an hour Back inside, here and now or I am waiting in the car Roll up your program into an x-ray telescope Hold it up to your one open eye, tilt your head back-- “who is there?” Do we sing, should we dance I’ll just sit here, in my hemmed short pants With my sweater, buttoned with the cross and crown While black crows watch over Black crows, watch over me Is it safe or out of bounds We all get paid to sing along And memorize the revisions that are made Breathing out a line of gospel spirit Filled with love or something near it Until we sing again the words that we just heard
11.
Five, Four, Three, Two, One Light up the fuse, and then back away Energy travels, travels at the speed of something quick, Something small and determined Something that has not had to mend a lot of fences Something that has not had to try to prove itself Indispensable, indispensable Something that is seen in two or more places at the same time Energy travels An image in the sky An image that stretches from right to left The storyline is familiar, but compelling All across the sky Dimensional Midwest drive-in screen An image that is seen in two or more places at the same time All across the sky Left eye covered in blue, right eye -- seeing through red Energy travels, all across the sky Dimensional Midwest drive-in screen All across the sky What is the part, the one part near the end One silent moment, one longing pause Before the camera pans back, And everyone’s name appears For one silent moment What part is it, what part is it What part is Indispensable, indispensable
12.
Transistor 04:33
Not a word from the Sunday choir Not a word from the people back at home No regrets, but I’m feeling tired My tray-table up, my lap belt buckled In 14F, my eyes are closed tight Thirty-one hundred feet high over Canada I am riding on a swarm of yellow-jackets A transistor radio in a thermos Nothing back from the satellites Nothing left, but our transmission Forever retelling all our scripted words And reminding us of everything that we ever did desire Powering ancient engines tonight Reaching wide these feathered wings in flight Holding on as we come a little closer Holding on as we come up to our full height And mark the wall, and smile because we know We have done this, and it is permanent We have done this, and now everyone will see That we are standing here, breathing, finally, and we have no regrets I have never been afraid of fire, I have never been afraid of heights But I have always been certain, that I should be Consequently I’m surrounded with reminders And I am currently trying to set the record straight I am riding on a swarm of yellow-jackets A transistor radio in a thermos Nothing back from the satellites Nothing left, but our transmission Forever retelling all our scripted words And reminding us of everything that we ever did desire
13.
Always pixelated, never mistaken for a masterpiece Oversaturated, but don’t you love the way it fools the eye In the centerpiece, blueberries and ripening watermelon Divert attention Have you noticed the way one room leads into the next How the light separates in random patches in between wallpaper roses and leaves A single light ahead of you, a point of reference, a point of view One place is less quiet naturally Window with a curtain, window with a frame Window with a title, window with a shade Perspective makes its point before it vanishes In the spirit of completeness, and full disclosure, much more will be revealed when it gets colder Be sure to check the date on the kitchen towel calendar Until then, honeybees cover the lavender One answer begins to spill out before you can even take a guess Feathers fall from a frame, until they cover the marble floor
14.
Another Roof 03:44
There is a little key I keep it at the end of a long chain I’m not really sure if it opens anything anymore But when I’m in trouble, I can walk up to any door Put the key into my hand, and I don’t have trouble no more I never even notice this chain as it hangs around my neck Featherweight satellite, on this equator so light Circling my thought, my action, my presence, Everything I ever feel or see Invisible to others, and usually to me I go out back to the alley, when I need to look around Get my neighbor’s ladder and climb right onto the roof If I need to come back down, I might notice something’s missing Always best to ask first, before you count on borrowed stairs But it don’t really matter, I can stay up here for many days There’s always another roof, somewhere further up there There’s always another roof, somewhere waiting to be found There’s always another ladder, when I need to look around
15.
Watermark 04:40
Perforated watermark, tattoo on your trigger finger I’m just here cause it’s cold Covered up in tin foil, not a lot of light gets in What used to be for sale now is sold Wishing before you were born, California navel orange But you had to lose ‘em at the table Cinderella, out of breath, tell the story with the rest I’ll try to get this out if I am able Nebraska farm boy Running to the promised land Will play this all by ear Without any practice Rising with the mercury, Euclidean geometry Any two points can be joined By a road or a line, an air-conditioned lucky find It’s easy if you learn to work the system Rev the engine, pop the clutch We really don’t get out too much It’s best to read in only two dimensions Take some time if you’d like Close the cover before you strike Let’s forget that this was mentioned A wildfire’s burning Racing through the promised land With sand castle buckets and shovels And not enough practice
16.
Outlaw 04:43
Happened once on a night like this Happened once when all things seemed a lot like this Happened once on a night like this Happened once when all things seemed a lot like this He stood around like a loud sound around the corner Didn’t seem to feel it too much then A subtle pull toward a backlit shadow Holding my heart in his outlaw hand I was just curious, or too knowing of the outcome I was just making it all up as I took my ride Just believing what I forgot, just living what I forgot Just seeing enough to stay in line Stay within the lines
17.
Would it be enough to match the innocence of one Who might turn back when the light’s just turned to green All that can be said when the innocence is enough To pull a quick reflection from a moving dream Would you feel the hand, or a thundering of horses Or the riders with their compass pointing to the southern cross Would you understand that the whole thing with innocence Is losing the knowledge of what’s already lost You see it standing under the aspen trees With a porch light smile on its lips Colored in the layers of many layered countries And the brightest light, still leaves some parts revealed But these trees never help much in a rainstorm And with the knowledge of what’s on fire There is something more than rain to be wary of You got something more than the rain on your mind
18.
Driving out, I am covered with the chances And I hear just what I felt that time that you told me to Take good time, better take good money Find your pen and your alibi And to never know what you could never see I’ve heard it’s up to you Like an edge touching fire, like a wheel touching water I do not see, I do not hear, a day running dry Like the wind touching earth, or like me when I touch the sky I might not speak of even feel, I might not know completely All at once, I might just look down at myself, and feel just like I felt Before I was living in this body A time and place sometimes you go, and you might not even recognize But to hear a name and recall its face, it’s not always the same Take your time as you’re flying through these starry fields Seems you’re hearing once again just what you’re meant to hear there Sometimes you know, and sometimes you see It even might come back again But listen for it when you can One time it might feel true
19.
You’ve heard it said you were young some time ago You’ve held the black and whites that prove it’s true But to take a look now, and see what’s lying in between The softest grey, the deepest black The torn-in-half smiles There’s an open book lying in another room And a map you find you get to leave behind I might just give it all and to the edge we’ll go Take what we find, leave what we can For your time, in your hands I’m taken in I know it’s true You might be overly cautious sometimes But you make it through I’m too tired to see and I’m always wanting more And to say the least, I’m not very sure But it’s always just like what you might have done So it goes, so we live So the next turn comes
20.
Let’s say you were born in Denver in 1963 You might stay forever, or at least til you turn three You might take off for Oklahoma, or head north to Omaha And by the time you learn to read what’s right You’ll be off somewhere not too far On Sundays I would ride in the back seat of the Dodge Across the slowest river, over to the Iowa side I’d look out to where some people come from Through the rows of green Watch the smoke rising, and the fires burning the ditches clean If you take one step If you take one step, you’ll be asked to take a thousand When a fire is burning, it’s best not to stand too still When you’re opened to your weakness, wisdom comes as wisdom will And when a heart is worried, pray to the saints of casualties And look in all directions and see what you can see Cause nobody is going to tell you You get to find out for yourself
21.
I might take it in And I might just lose this like an arrow Pointed toward a hole in the wind When it all gives up And goes wondering or stops trying I find good company dancing by And telling every story and writing it all down And knowing what’s forever on your side You’ve seen it look so careless and spiraling and wild And still never get to see what you’ve been shown Or what you might find If you break at all Or if one event tells the story Taken much too far, easily If all things are connected And what’s left is left there standing Just take that road again, travelling by You can close your eyes one at a time And press your hand down on a map And trace your outline over half the world Covering mountains, oceans, and whole continents One touch equals more than a page can hold If all things are connected And what’s left is left there standing Just take that road again, travelling by And telling every story and writing it all down And knowing what’s forever on your side You’ve seen it look so careless and spiraling and wild And still never get to see what you’ve been shown Or what you might find
22.
No time to gently steam it open No time to fold it back into place I was given a map of some kind But I don’t know the way to take it out of my pocket Look to the stars, or look to the bird that flies Or see, which way, you feel, the wind is leading I know we were all born in Spirit But somehow we were raised in Material Territory We live, we breathe in Material Territory right now If you are born with a sense of patience and respect You can always get along with your family, your sister, your brother If you keep enough, if you take the time to remember You can always get along, you can always get along We were all born, born in Spirit and We were all given a boat of some kind And we were all given some wide water to get ourselves across We are all seeing our way through Material Territory, right now A final call, a saving grace Take it in, make some calls, and sleep until tomorrow All stays safe, all stays quiet If you’ll remember it all started this way when all was so easy with nothing required of you
23.
Even today, I’d have to say I’m seeing more but taking less in Sleeping sycamores and empty stores That line the sidewalks of this town We’re travelling together Patience with memory, travel, and spirit It’s an hour later than it was last time Turn the volume from twenty to zero There’s something in the stillness we can find And try to not let go of These results may not be typical If I should say, I miss the way The moon would always cover up an empty field When you can see, more sand than sea You know that the crushing wave is on its way We’re travelling together These results may not be typical
24.
Saw a sign on a house, ‘bout a thousand years ago 7775, yeah I forget the rest A thousand trails from a thousand stars will light up this sky tonight And we will sleep, and we will dream Sweet and sour is the color of the sky on an endless day Infinity cyan with a drop of two of cyanide Get your sunglasses on, find the keys to the car and take a spin around the culdesac Saw a sign on a house Sell the house, this is a scary place Forward all the mail, to a better place The new residents will never suspect what they’re likely to find The new residents will be stumbling on pieces of a puzzle that we left behind Which walls are hollow, you’ll never know til you go back in Well, you first—I’ll follow Go ahead, let the fun begin By the time we get back out to the corner There’ll be a new sign—For Sale By Owner And we will sleep, and we will dream Sell the house, this is a scary place Forward all the mail, to a better place The new residents will never suspect what they’re likely to find The new residents will be stumbling on pieces of a puzzle that we left behind So put a new bulb in the night light And cover your eyes All things will be--as they were Go to sleep, I can tell you’re getting tired

credits

released July 20, 2009

All instruments and vocals - David Roos

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

David Roos Palm Springs, California

contact / help

Contact David Roos

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like David Roos, you may also like: